Prawn Skewers

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Coogee Common – Coogee, WA – Friday 19 April 2024 – Lunch

Very rarely do I go out to a restaurant without knowing the first thing about it. In this case, Catherine had long ago aimed to dine here, and I went in blind but confident. If there is anyone who can be trusted to find a great meal, it is my wife.

We arrive on the non-beach side of Cockburn Road, greeted by a beautiful heritage building, along with my Mum, Sher, Sue, and Heinz, who are all well dressed for a fancy meal. I had little idea, but catching up with my family in Perth is always exciting, and they do tend to dress well!

What I now know is Coogee Common has a garden surrounding the restaurant that provides much of what is utilised by the kitchen. There is certainly a bountiful array of fresh produce, and it is beautifully appointed in the creations of the chefs. 

Seated at a large circular table with a terrific vantage point on the corner windows inside, we are beginning at 11.30am and for a moment have much of the restaurant to ourselves (but not for long). There’s plenty of room for the dishes we are about to share, and there’s plenty of time to catch up before we even think to order.

The wine list has the diversity you’d expect at a fine dining establishment, along with some delicous cocktails, and mocktails. Catherine really enjoyed her Spring Fling, and my first glass of wine, a Slate Farm Fiano from Clare Valley, shows vibrancy. My other taste is of the Montague Chardonnay from closer by in Margaret River. For me this is a lesser known producer, highlighting the intelligent building of the wine list with sensible points of difference.

It was tough to narrow down the food options, but with Catherine and Heinz’s help I eventually ordered for the table. I’d start with the highlights, but it was difficult to call out one or two dishes, as the quality across the board was outstanding. Perhaps the surprises are best to mention? The most exceptional dish in my mind was the beetroot salad. Not only superbly roasted (and pickled) by the kitchen, but fresh from the garden, the red beets in particular were some of the best you could hope for.

Almost on a par was the spice roasted carrots, which for me is often a vegetable hard to top. Earlier, gluten-free crispbread and a “garden dip”, along with prawn skewers, and pastrami, for the table, was all superb. The surprise was how delicious the jalapenos and other pickled vegetables tasted on the pastrami plate.

For the larger dishes we had a couple of fillets of snapper go around the table, and besides being perfectly cooked, the skin also remained crisp. I enjoyed the accompaniments, especially the addition of pine nuts and fennel, but Catherine did mention the skoralia (potato and garlic puree) was too strong for her. Lastly, the medium-rare steak was again showing the quality of the kitchen. Not a single mouthful was left, and we had enjoyed a lot of food. There may have been a battle to finish the seaweed and leek left on the plate, which is unique.

Throughout, service had been good, although I didn’t have a seat with a view to the floorstaff, so sometimes was searching for a wine. In comparison with other restaurants during our 12 days in Perth, and Rottnest, this was definitely far above the baseline on service.

For dessert we ended up getting a few, and none of us were disappointed, including Sydney with his chocolate ice cream. In fact, we were very pleased, with Mum even trying the vegan chocolate mousse and prickly pear sorbet and loving it, which is unusual because she rarely has dessert. As I earlier mentioned, fennel is one of my favourite ingredients, so the fennel ice cream grabbed me. Served with a white chocolate draped combination of ricotta and quince, this was a fine end to a terrific meal. Catherine’s pumpkin creme brûlée also tasted as good as it looked.

Garden to table dining is not new, but being so close to the city is novel. It’s exciting to see the risk that Coogee Common has taken, re-establishing a heritage property and planting an entire garden in 2018. Now it is paying dividends with the quality of the outcome. We’d love to be back here on our next visit to Perth.

Coogee Common
https://coogeecommon.com.au
371 Cockburn Road, Coogee
Monday to Saturday 11.30am to late
Phone: 0451 830 371
Email: info@coogeecommon.com.au

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Naked In The Sky – Fitzroy – Tuesday 7 February 2017 – Dinner

It is well documented that Melbourne has inconsistent weather. Just when you think it might be a bit of exaggeration and urban myth, you’ll be reaching for an umbrella in sunshine, or will be carrying one aimlessly for hours wondering why you bothered. Like other cities with fickle weather, as soon as one of those spectacular days come along, there is a stampede to take full advantage, as if there will never be another nice day. It is panic!

Then you sit and talk about how great the weather is. For hours. And no one questions it, because they are all thinking the same thing. Today is one of those days. We should be sitting at home, eating a home cooked meal, but this could be the last chance we ever get to eat outside in complete comfort.

Fried zucchini flowers

On days like these, there actually aren’t a crazy number of options. If bars and restaurants relied on Melbourne having spectacular weather they would be broke faster than a pub with no beer. Functional outdoor spaces here need to have heating, blankets, parasols, wind breakers, or shades, and that is not cheap. As we ran through a list of options that ticked the box for quality food, and drinks, with evening sun, we didn’t exactly have 50 places in mind.

Grilled prawn skewers

Naked In The Sky was the eventual pick. A beautiful view of the city, tapas style eats, and a renowned bar were the reasons. Luckily there was a steady flow of comers and goers and we grabbed a table pretty quickly on this random weeknight. It was basically full though.

The menu is littered with great options to share, even with just two people partaking. Catherine and I chose the zucchini flowers, croquettes, prawns and sliders.

The food is honest and tasty, with generous serves being the norm. There are fluctuations in the flavour intensity, and execution, but on the whole this is a pleasant place to eat. The standout tonight for me were the fried zucchini flowers filled with pea and mascarpone. They are beautifully fried, and the filling is an intelligent combination. The prawns were nice and juicy too; the croquettes on the other hand lacking the depth of flavour that is part and parcel of this delicious fried snack. The sliders were the weakest of the four.

To wash down the various dishes we both had a glass of white. Mine was a Verdejo with good versatility and balanced fruit, and Catherine had a Margaret River Chardonnay. The selection is extensive, and there is the right balance between focus on providing a place for a drink, and a place to offer sustenance.

Croquettes

The next time there is a spectacular day in Melbourne I wouldn’t blame anyone for dropping everything in a panicked state, and heading straight for Naked In The Sky. There’s a good chance we’ll see you there!

Naked In the Sky Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato